“And are they helping?”

“I haven’t taken them. I…” She didn’t want to be that far under in case Terry found her. If he broke in, she’d be helpless and he’d kill her. She’d dreamt of it over and over since Sunday night.

“You?”

“I just don’t like narcotic sleep. It makes me feel out of control.”

He nodded. “You working tomorrow?”

“Yes. Every Friday.”

“I’m on shift until six tonight. I’ll be back here with Chinese food and some clothes by seven. Don’t worry, I’ll sleep on the couch if you like. But you’re going to sleep tonight and I’ll be here to make sure you’re safe. You’ll take those pills and start feeling better because you’re the guest of honor at a big party in just a few days.”

She started to refuse but she wanted him here. He did make her feel safe. She didn’t have the strength to refuse him. And she didn’t want to.

“Okay. Thank you, Shane.”

He came to kneel before her. “Cassie, I care very deeply about you. I’m sorry you’ve felt unsafe all this time while we’ve both been stupid. But you don’t know how happy it makes me that you’ll let me help, in even such a small way. Now eat.”

That night he’d slept beside her, her body in his arms, breath on the skin of his neck. They’d made love but she’d kept her shirt on and the lights off. He knew she had body image issues and he didn’t push her but he wanted her to know how beautiful she was. He hoped she’d trust him enough to let him see all of her some day soon.

He’d gotten up and ready first. She was a bit groggy when her alarm had gone off but some coffee and toast helped her wake up. When he’d left for work she was already looking better for her full night’s sleep.

Chapter Eleven

Labor Day morning dawned bright and warm. Cassie had deliberated on what to wear for the last several days until she finally decided on a pair of denim shorts and a deep red sleeveless shirt. The collar was enough to hide the edge of the scars and she was able to wear her hair in a high ponytail.

Shane had wanted her to sleep over at his house the evening before but then he’d gotten called out for work at nine-thirty and she’d just headed home, she wasn’t comfortable enough in his house to be there alone just yet.

She’d headed to Penny’s first thing but Shane was already there with his mother and brothers, setting everything up.

“I thought I’d be able to beat you here.” Cassie smiled at Polly, her hands on her hips.

“Honey, you’d have to get up a lot earlier to beat me to it.” Polly laughed and pulled her into a hug. “I’m glad to see you here. Come on out here and tell me what you think.”

Penny’s backyard had been transformed into the perfect place for a party. A canopy was set up near the big oak tree and several tables rested beneath it for shade. Several stations of tubs filled with ice and cans and bottles of soda dotted the area. Penny’s dock had several floats and donuts for the kids to play on laying around.

“Wow. It looks great.”

Shane saw her and dropped what he was doing to come and swoop her up into a hug. He dropped a kiss on her lips. “Morning, gorgeous. Sorry to have to duck out on you last night.”

“Well, I suppose it’s one of the hazards of being a cop’s girlfriend. Is everything all right?”

He smiled at her and Polly laughed. “You just said you were my girlfriend.”

“I am aren’t I? I thought we’d discussed it.”

“We did. I just like hearing it.”

Cassie rolled her eyes.

“I like hearing it too. It’s about damned time.” Polly harrumphed and moved back out into the yard to order people around.

Before too long, people began to show up and two very large barbecues began to fill up with burgers and chicken.

Shane heaped food on Cassie’s plate and got up to get her another glass of tea. He’d been very careful to make sure she stayed hydrated and ate well after she’d scared him several days before. At first she’d been testy when he insisted she take care of herself and eat better but to his relief, she finally let him take care of her. She did appear to be sleeping better though and the dark circles were gone.

“You’re good together.” Liv patted his arm after he’d gotten the glass of tea. “I wish…well, I’m glad for you and Cassie. She’s a good person. And she clearly makes you happy. Love is a good thing, Shane.”

He saw the sadness on her face and her eyes moved to Matt and then away. “I’m real sorry things didn’t work out with Matt. I hope you find what I’ve got with Cassie. You deserve it.”

Liv shrugged. “I wish it had worked too. But you can’t make someone love you. They do or they don’t. It was a nice time. He was lovely to me. He just didn’t love me and after a while I couldn’t deal with loving someone when they didn’t love me back. Love changes you. Look at you. You were an ass**le, Shane. God, you treated Maggie like shit. But you see now, you see in ways you couldn’t then. That’s good.”

Brody called to her and she smiled and waved, moving to him after she’d said goodbye to Shane.

He stood there, thinking about the last thing Liv had said. That love changed how he saw things. Sure he’d been sorry he hurt Maggie because he liked her as a person. Liked her as a sister, even loved her as one. But loving Cassie had opened his eyes. He wasn’t sure he liked what he saw of himself before. He’d closed himself off and it hadn’t made him particularly nice to women. He hadn’t been a cad, but he hadn’t seen them in the way he should have.